I often marvel how salespeople spend so much time managing their customers. They will prioritize them by size, revenue, profits and all types of criteria to see where they should be spending their time and effort. Of course that's a good idea. What they're forgetting is that they have another very important customer. It's their manager. Even if you're on commission, your … [Read more...]
Do Prospects Hit the Delete Key With Your Voicemail When You Sell?
There are just a few reasons why you're not getting a meeting with a prospect. Are you giving them a compelling reason to meet? Do you sound credible? Do they have a reason to believe you can deliver what you say? If your voicemail is irrelevant to their business get ready for the delete button on their voicemail. If you sound hesitant, too cocky, too meek, or unprofessional … [Read more...]
Are you making a sales mistake?
I see this over and over again with salespeople. They make the mistake of presenting too soon. How do I know? I ask them if their clients are saying, "I need to think about it" to make a buying decision. What's to think about it your customer truly needs what you are selling? It's your job to ask the questions that guide a customer to understand there is a need, it's an … [Read more...]
Are you getting ripped off?
Does your sales process include submitting proposals? Does the proposal include a road map of the solution to your prospect's problem? That's dangerous. Your prospect could take your expertise and shop it to the lowest bidder. That has to stop. I understand that you want to demonstrate your expertise in the proposal. You can do this without giving your knowledge away. In … [Read more...]
What Every Sales Manager Should Know
Imagine being hired to work on an assembly line. On your first day your manager gives you your work instructions. He says, "Put the parts together any way you want. It's fine with me." Sounds nuts? Well why is this being done in sales? Your manager should have an idea of how many quality sales calls you should be making a day. At least he should know a range. He should know … [Read more...]